lessons on being thankful

it's friday, finally! my group and i have been so spoiled this past week. and we're so very thankful.


first of all, we got a private tour of the capitol. as my mom would say, "that's way cool." the person giving the tour, lauren hovis, was actually in my position last summer. this summer she's doing a captiol hill internship. secondly, we completed so many things on our to-do list! literally, everything is checked off. we finished getting everything for camp ready, we cleaned, we organized, and we may even get to relax. 


let me tell you some background information:
national baptist memorial is a very large church. not in numbers, but in the actual size of the church. there are literally doorways, and stairways and rooms everywhere. i'm pretty sure i haven't even been in over half of the building. 


but anyway..with camp starting on monday, we had church volunteers come in this past tuesday to help us do various things (such as cleaning, painting, and just getting rid of trash)  in the rooms where camp will be held. (which is basically the entire upstairs and which was basically a complete mess) 


the volunteers did tremendous work! we were/are so thankful for everything they did. the upstairs looks amazing with clean floors, freshly painted rooms, dusted tables..a huge difference from what it looked like a few weeks ago.


while we were busy cleaning upstairs, ms. claudia and ms. taylor (two of my favorite ladies) were busy downstairs cooking a feast for us. it was absolutely fabulous! baked and fried fish, salad, pasta, fresh vegetables, homemade mashed potatoes, pound cake, and peach tea. it was the first "real cooked" meal i've had since i've been in dc. the change in food was such a nice thing. really, it was. a person can only have so many pb&j sandwiches. 


on thursday evening, we had the privilege of enjoying ms. taylor's cooking again. and once again, it was a feast. roasted chicken, roast beef, rice, salad, vegetables, rolls, cranberry tea and cake that tasted exactly like thin mint girl scout cookies. i was literally full. the kind of full where you just want to lay down and nap. 
ms. taylor is such a wonderful woman. the whole time we were eating dinner, we just listened. to her stories about life, the church, jamaica, and everything in-between. ms. taylor has been a member of nbmc for 43 years. over half of her life. she told us how the church used to fill the sanctuary every sunday with about 600 people. mainly whites. the church used to have a large children's program. and two pastors. but a lot has changed over the years.
the church now has one pastor, which happens to be its first woman, african american pastor. no definite children's program. and maybe 50 people in sunday morning worship. 4 or 5 being white. the church basically did a 180 (or 360, i can't ever remember). 
the thing that really surprised me is that the intention of nbmc was to literally be the national baptist church. but things change. plans change. and some times nothing works like it's supposed to. 


ms. taylor told us everything. how she's a breast cancer survivor. she's from jamaica. she lives a simple life. and she loves nothing more than to make sure people are ok. by the time we got done with our huge plates full of food, she said, "let's have seconds.." of course we told her how full we were, and then she said, "well, maybe i should talk more and then you'll be hungry again." one of her favorite things is to cook for people. knowing people have food. and lots of it. she's almost like our mother here. she'll tell us like it is. when we're wrong. when we're right. and when we just need to know someone is there. 


once again she's cooking for us. we all told her we like shrimp, so guess what we're having for lunch? shrimp. even though she shouldn't be cooking it. she told us how she's allergic to shellfish. i don't know about you, but that's love. she knows it's something we want, and she's making sure we get it. like i said, we're spoiled. but so thankful at the same time. 


(here is some information about camp, which will start monday, that pastor jones sent out. keep us in prayer!)
Exciting news! We are at capacity for Explorer Camp 2011.  Based on the latest count, there are 41 children registered for our camp, 21 boys and 20 girls.  The group of campers is diverse in age, gender, ethnicity and life experience.  We have campers who are Latino, African, Caribbean, African American and Anglo American.  Children live primarily in DC, but there are some who live in parts of Maryland.  Some of the families currently reside in a transitional housing program, while others live in their own home.  There are parents who are working; looking for work; and, never worked before.  A significant number of children are participating because of help from extended family members and friends.